Apparatus for raising and supporting a lawn mower and including blade sharpening means



' Nov. 3, 1953 C. W. BRUFFEY APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND SUPPORTING A LAWNMOWER AND, INCLUDING BLADE SHARPENING MEANS Filed April 28, 1950 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Carroll Ml. Bruffey IN V EN TOR.

7 a E a Nov. 3, 1953 I c. w. BRUFFEY APPARATUS FOR RAISING ANDSUPPORTING A LAWN MOWER I AND, INCLUDING BLADE SHARPENING MEANS FiledApril 28, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Carr e/l .n'. Bruffey INVENTOR.

APPARATUS FOR RAIS ING AND SUPPORTING A LAWN MOWER AND, INCLUDING BLADESHARPENING MEANS Filed April 28, 1950- 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 3, 1953 cw, BRUFFEY 2,657,502

Carroll W. Bruffey JNVENTOR.

Nov. 3, 1953 c, w, BRUFFEY 2,657,502 APPARATUS FOR RAISING ANDSUPPORTING A LAWN MOWER AND, INCLUDING BLADE SHARPENING MEANS FiledApril 28, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 5 Y 20 Carroll W. BruffeyIINVENTOR.

BY 56 W W Patented Nov. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FORRAISING AND SUPPORT- ING A LAWN MOWER AND INCLUDING BLADE SHARPENINGMEANS 8 Claims.

cutting blades thereof may be readily sharpened by a grinderor liketool.

A further object of this invention is to provide means associated withthe means for raising the lawn mower and supporting it in position forenabling a grinder or like tool to be readily and adjustably supportedthereon so that it may be readily brought into engagement with thecutting edges of a lawn mower or like garden implement.

Still another object of this invention is to provide means forpositioning a lawn mower upon a supporting element, which means consistsof a platform which may be readily lowered out of the Way.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pair of verticallyadjustable platforms on which the lawn mower may be first raised toposition and then placed in position which platforms may be readilylowered so as to leave the lawn mower in a desired position at apredetermined angle so that a grinder or like instrument may be readilybrought into play and thus the cutting blades of the lawn mower or likefarm'implement may be sharpened.

Still further objects reside in the provision of a lawn mower lift thatis strong, durable, highly efficient in operation, comparatively simplein construction and manufacture, capable of being made from variousstock parts, which may be moved from one location to another, and whichis comparatively, simple to operate.

These, together with the various ancillary objects of the inventionwhich will become apparent as the following description proceeds, areattained by this lawn mower lift, a preferred embodiment of which hasbeen illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only,wherein: a

Figure 1 1s aside elevational view of the lawn mower lift shown in aninitial position prior to the loading of a lawn mower thereupon;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view similar to the view shown in Figure1 after the lawn mower has been raised to another position;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the lawn mower lift showing thelawn mower in a supported position on the device preparatory to theapplication of the grinder to the cutting blades;

Figure l is an end elevational view of the invention with parts thereofbeing broken away to show other parts in section;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the device with parts thereof beingbroken away to show other parts in greater detail;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the lifting mechanism for theelevator platform comprising one element of the present invention;

Figure 7 is an elevational detail of a portion of the invention butshows in greater detail the means for adjusting a grinder into operativeposition in engagement with the cutting blades of the lawn mower; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged side elevational detail of a portion of themachine used in positioning the lawn mower upon a suitable positioningdevice preparatory to engagement by the grinding mechanism.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein likereference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views,reference numeral I0 generally designates a lawn mower lift whichcomprises four upwardly extending tubular frame members i2 which areinterconnected by horizontal frame members M at the bottom ends of theframe members 12. A further horizontal transverse frame member formed ofa tubular element which is indicated as at 16 extends between opposedtubular frame members M. By means of suitable angle irons l8, casters 20are secured to the frame members it and other wheels 22 are journaled onshaft extending from the frame elements.

A ramp 24 is provided with wheels 26 and is supported by a suitable liftplatform 30 and enables a lawn mower such as that designated at 28 to beraised onto the lift platform 3! supported by the frame members I 2.Extending upwardly from one of the side frame members M are angle ironsupporting members 32 and 34 which are braced by means of members 36 and38. Supported on the angle iron member 34 is a plate all to which thereis secured brackets 42 and id in which a worm A6 is journaled. A crank48 is provided for rotating the worm 46 which, in turn, drives gear 50and hence drum 52 on which there are wound cables for raising andlowering the platform 30.

The cable for raising the platform it consists of a first cable asindicated at 54 which is engaged about vertically mounted pulleyssupported by the frame members M, as indicated at 56 and about avertically extended pulley 58 supported by one of the frame members I2.cable ii is secured to the platform. A second cable til is secured aboutpulley 62 and one of the horizontally supported pulleys 64 each securedin a cut-out portion in the transverse frame member I6 and thence aboutcomplementary pulley 56 and another pulley as indicated at 58 similar tothe pulleys on which the cable 54 is secured. Likewise, cable 66 isengaged about pulleys 62, 6d, 56 and 58 and then secured to theplatform. Cable 68 is complementary to cable 54 and is secured aboutsome of the pulleys 56 and 58 before being secured to the platform 39 Itis to be noticed that as the crank is rotated, the platform 38 and theramp 24 are raised and the mower which has been guided on to theplatform til when the platform and the ramp was in its lowermostposition is lifted,

Extending outwardly from a pair of the frame members I2 are angle ironmembers Ill and I2. Secured on a shaft E l extending between the angleiron members If! and i2 are drums I6 which are rotated by means ofhandle It. The shaft M is held in a set position by means of the ratchetwheel stop mechanism as indicated at 83. Secured to the drums it arecables 82 which are connected to crank arms 84 the other ends of whichare pivotally attached to members 85 extending downwardly from the angleirons H3 and I2.

By means of pins 87 engaged in slots 83 in the crank arms M the crankarms are connected to guides so slidingly mounted by means of wheels 32in channel members 34 depending from the angle iron members Ill and I2.The guide means so are secured to a transverse'bar 95 which has weldedthereto U-shaped frame members 38 of the'platform generally indicated atI Bil. Hence, by rotation of the shaft I4 and of the crank handle I8 theplatform its may be raised or lowered as desired.

Journaled in and between a pair of members I92 which are welded. to theframe members I2 is a threaded shaft IM. Extending between the membersI92 is a guide bar I05 about which extensions 55a of support membersIlil are positioned. The support members I I5 are threadedly engaged bythe threaded shaft I34 and hence, upon rotation of the disked handle N2the support members I Iii may be readily adjusted transverse of themachine in order to engage the side portions II I of the mower tosupport the lawn mower 28 transversely of the lift II].

There'is mounted on each of the angle iron members If! and '32 forsliding motion relative thereto a pair of guide bars II4 which are heldin spaced relationship by spacers H6 and which are selectively securedto the angle iron members I9 and I2 by means of bolts II8 which extendthrough openings in the angle iron members It and i2 and between eachpair of guide bars are and which are held so in position by means ofwing nuts I28. Extending between the guides 'II l are shafts I22 onwhich sleeves I24 are disposed. Engaged on the sleeves I24 for slidingmotion relative thereto are brackets I26 which are secured to a plateI21 on which is supported a prime mover I28 and a grinding wheel I39driven by the prime mover I28 and drivingly connected thereto by a beltmeans. In order to advance the guides H4 and hence the grinder ISIl intoengagement with the cutting blades of the lawn mower 28 there areprovided links I32 which are pivotally attached to the angle irons Hiand I2. Handles I34 are welded to the lin Thence the 32 and are used toactuate the links I32. A connecting link I36 joins each of the links I32with the members II4. Additionally a link I38 is pivotally secured atone end thereof to a connecting link I36 and is provided with a slot Mein which the shaft I42 pivotally attaching the links I32 to the angleirons It and F2 may ride. Hence, upon movement of the handle I34 or anauxiliary handle I44, that is fixed to connecting link I36, the grinderIw may be moved into engagement with the cutting edges of the lawn mower28.

In operation, the lawn mower is directed up the ramp 24 onto theplatform 3G. Then, the crank arm E8 is actuated which causes theplatform iii} to be raised to a position level with the uppermostposition of the platform Hit. The lawn mower 25 is then pushed onto theplatform Iiid and the supporting members iIii are positioned by means ofthe crank wheel H2. Then, the platform I99 is lowered by means of themechanism operated by crank handle l8 so that the supporting membersIII) will. engage and support the side portions II I ofthe lawn mower28, and the platform 33, which is then supporting the rear groundengaging roller of the lawn mower 28, islowered somewhat as is bestshown in Figure 3 to tilt'the lawn mower ata desired angle in order thatthe grinder I3i! may be brought into engagement with the cutting bladesat a desired angle. Then, the guide strips us and hence the sleeves I24may be brought into position and the grinder brought into engagementwith the cutting blades of the lawn: mower 23.

Since from the foregoing the constructionv and arrangement of this lawnmower lift are readily apparent, further description is believed to beunnecessary.

However, since numerous modifications will readliy occur to thoseskilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specificationand accompanying drawings, it is not intended to limit the invention tothe precise embodiment shown and described, but all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be readily resorted to which fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. A device for sharpening a lawn mower, said device comprising awheeled supporting frame, a firstvertically movable horizontal platformcarried by the frame, means mounted on the frame and connected to theplatform for selectively raising and lowering the platform, a secondvertically movable horizontallydisposed platform slidably supported bythe frame at one side of the first platform, means operatively connectedto the second platform for selectively raising and lowering the secondplatform, means ounted on the frame for engaging and supporting a lawnmower moved onto the second platform from the first platform, a carriageslidably carried the frame and movable toward and away from the secondplatform and toward and away from a lawn mower supported on the secondplatform, and a grinding wheel supporting plate slidably supported onthe carriage and movable in a horizontal path perpendicular to thesliding path of the carriage.

2. The combination of claim 1 and a ramp having an upper end pivotallysecured to said. first platfrom and floor contacting rollers at thelower end of the ramp adapted to engage a floor invention, what issurface when the first platform is lower to permit the lower end of theramp to move away from the frame, whereby a lawn mover may be moved ontothe first platform.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said second platform includes acarriage having wheels, and vertical channel shaped guides forming partof said frame and slidably receiving said rollers.

4. A machine for sharpening lawn mowers comprising a supporting frameincluding two pair of interconnected uprights and a pair of horizontalmembers secured to and projecting laterally from a pair of saiduprights, vertical channel members fixed to and depending from saidhorizontal members, a carriage including wheels tracking in said channelmembers, a platform supported on the carriage and movable verticallywith the carriage, means supported on the horizontal members andconnected to the carriage for selectively raising and lowering thelatter, a second platform confined between said uprights and movablevertically alongside of the first mentioned platform, means supported onthe frame and operatively connected to the second platform forselectively raising and lowering the latter, and a blade sharpeningmeans supported on said horizontal members and movable selectivelytoward and away from the blade of a mower moved onto the first namedplatform from the second platform, said second platform being raisedwith a mower thereon until the second platform is substantially-flushwith the first named platform, whereby the ground wheels of the mowermay be moved onto the first named platform with the guide wheel of themower remaining on the second platform, said second platform beinglowered after the ground wheels of the mower have been moved onto thefirst named platform in order to tilt the mower and permit thesharpening means to be moved into engagement with the blade of themower, said blade sharpening means including a horizontally slidablecarriage movable selectively toward and away from said second platformand a grinding wheel supporting plate slidably supported on thehorizontally slidable carriage and movable perpendicular to the path ofmovement of the horizontally slidable carriage, and means operativelyconnecting the horizontally slidable carriage to the horizontal membersfor moving the carriage selectively toward and away from said secondplatform.

5. A device for sharpening a lawn mower, said device comprising asupporting frame including corner uprights and an overhang fixedlysecured to two of the uprights, a first vertically movable horizontalplatform carried by the frame, a second vertically movable horizontallydisposed platfrom slidably carried by the overhang and adapted toreceive a lawn mower from the first platform, means on the frameoperatively connected to the first platform for selectively raising andlowering the first platform, additional means on the overhangoperatively connected to the second platform for selectively raising andlowering the second platform, means supported on said overhang forengaging and holding a lawn mower relative to the second platform, and agrinding wheel mount slidably carried by the overhang and selectivelymovable toward and away from the second platform.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said first platform issubstantially rectangular to include four corners, said raising andlowering means for said first platform including a horizontally disposedcable drum rotatably supported by the supporting frame, and a cablebetween the drum and each corner of the first platform.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said first platform issubstantially rectangular to include four corners, said raising andlowering means for said platform including a horizontally disposed cabledrum rotatably supported by the supporting frame, cables terminallyattached to said drum and the corners of said first platform, therebeing one cable connecting the drum to each corner of the firstplatform, said uprights being tubular and receiving said cables, saidframe including a pair of tubular side members and a tubular transversemember joining said side members, upper and lower pulleys carried byeach of the uprights, further pulleys carried by the side members, twoof said cables extending through one of said side members and throughtwo of said uprights and engaged with the pulleys carried by said one ofsaid side members and said one of said uprights, another pulley carriedby the transverse member, the remaining two cables extending throughsaid transverse member and the remaining two uprights and being engagedwith the pulleys thereby.

8. A device for sharpening a lawn mower, said device comprising asupporting frame including corner uprights and an overhang fixedlysecured to two of the uprights, a first vertically movable horizontalplatform carried by the frame, a second vertically movable horizontallydisposed platform slidably carried by the overhang and adapted toreceive a lawn mower from the first platform, means on the frameoperatively connected to the first platform for selectively raising andlowering the first platform, additional means on the overhangoperatively connected to the second platform for selectively raising andlowering the second platform, means supported on said overhang forengaging and holding a lawn mower relative to the second platform, saidlawn mower engaging and holding means including a horizontal rodrotatably supported by said overhang and having oppositely threaded endportions, and support members extending up wardly from said rod andhaving threaded bores accommodating the ends of said rod.

CARROLL W. BRUFFEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,545,426 Hoffmann July 7, 1925 1,605,890 Brown Nov. 2, 19261,667,467 Young Apr. 24, 1928 1,916,063 Miller June 27, 1933 1,950,936Baumberger Mar. 13, 1934 2,149,774 Ingleman M Mar. 7, 1939 2,180,911Rogers Nov. 21, 1939 2,233,055 Kennedy Feb. 25, 1941 2,279,798 ShelburneApr. 14, 1942 2,382,311 Heald Aug. 14, 1945 2,432,851 Anderson Dec. 16,1947 2,493,619 Comstock Jan. 3, 1950 2,533,009 Harsh Dec. 5, 19502,573,587 McGraw' Oct. 30, 1951

